


Teaches of Peaches

by houselesbian



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Real World, Boys' Night, Fluff, Galo works as an exotic dancer, Happy Birthday to Lio, JUST FLUFF REALLY, M/M, Meis is a good wingman, also kind of coffeeshop au, and he is very good at it, but it all works out, no Burnish, same warnings as for galo hen in chapter two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-01-27 15:37:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21394567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houselesbian/pseuds/houselesbian
Summary: “Do I have to?” Lio asked, as he was dragged into a titty bar.Lio is dragged out for boys' night after two consecutive allnighters, because it is his birthday, and no one asked him what he actually wanted to do.Chapter 2: Burning Rescue wants to meet Galo's lawyer boyfriend.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 101
Kudos: 1000





	1. Teaches of Peaches

**Author's Note:**

> There should be no CW's for this in any real sense. Lio has a little moment of thinking of white knighting but shuts it down. Lio has some awkward feelings. Point it out to me if you feel I've missed anything.
> 
> (Also, [required listening](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzFxPEMXYIY).)

“Do I have to?” Lio asked, as he was dragged into a titty bar.

* * *

Lio was twenty, exhausted and perpetually single. He liked to think of himself as a hard worker, but he knew better. Rich boys with apartments paid for by mommy didn’t work hard, even when they worked hard. He could afford to spend his time interning at the campus free legal service, filling out his resume with charitable works while his fellow students pulled double shifts at the local diner. Lio was just another caffeine-addicted twink who wanted to save the world.

Meis and Gueira thought he was being dramatic because he hadn’t slept in 48 hours, but that yes, he was right about killing billionaires and redistributing their wealth.

Also, he wasn’t twenty anymore. He was twenty-one and it was his birthday. Woo. Boys night.

* * *

“I promise you will like this, boss,” Gueira said.

Lio’s eyes felt bruised and sore from lack of sleep. Meis had made him eat a sandwich before they took him out, which had given him a little strength back, but he was flagging, and he knew it. He did not have the energy to watch scantily clad ladies strut around a stage. He could respect the skill; he just couldn’t find any interest in it.

“I’m sure I told you I was gay,” Lio said, despairingly. “I am incredibly obvious about it.”

“No, you did,” Meis said.

“Which is why we brought you on boys’ night,” Gueira added.

They pushed Lio through the front door of ‘The Boobie Trap Bar And Grill,’ and he found himself faced with a room full of howling cougars and a stage occupied by a man assless chaps.

“Thank God,” Lio said.

“We told you!” Meis said.

“No, this is still a horrible idea, I can’t believe you thought I would like this,” Lio said.

“They do _lapdances_,” Gueira said.

And then he did jazz hands.

* * *

Gueira bought Lio an espresso martini, because he thought it was a good idea to mix depressants and stimulants at the same time. Lio drank it because it was delicious, and he did appreciate the gesture. Meis and Gueira seemed to be getting more out of the strippers than he was, which was odd, because Meis only dated women and Gueira didn’t date anyone.

Maybe it was just the room. There was enthusiasm (and dollar bills) in spades.

On the stage a thirty-something man with a body like a lumberjack ripped off a police shirt and sent buttons flying everywhere. A woman with a ‘bride to be’ veil grabbed one off the stage and screamed in glorious rapture. A pulsing remix of Bad Boys rang through the speakers.

“Take it off, take it off!” Meis and Gueira hooted, in unison.

It all just felt… kinda hetero? Lio was painfully over his straight boy phase. The music finally ebbed as the man on stage posed with his, frankly impressive, package jutting out towards in the audience, framed by a thong and nothing else. He received a wild amount of applause before strutting his way off stage.

“Let’s hear it for Billy!” The MC bellowed, into her microphone. She sounded like she was commentating on a WWC match, but it fitted.

“I’m going to get another drink,” Lio said, as he held up his newly viable ID.

“But drinks are on us!” Gueira said.

“Yeah!” Meis replied.

“I don’t mind—”

The MC drowned him out, “Now welcome to the stage our own smoking hot fireball, it’s _Galo!!_”

“Ugh.” Lio rolled his eyes.

And then…

_Sucking on my titties like you wanted me, calling me all the time—_

The most fucking beautiful boy walked on stage, in a goddamn firefighter’s outfit.

“I knew this would work!” Meis said, delighted, before Lio started to wilfully ignore him.

He had gravity defying hair and a grin like sunlight. He looped his thumbs in his suspenders, pulling them to the side so Lio could get a better look at the skin-tight tshirt that cupped his ridiculously pillowy chest. When he let the suspenders slap back, he moved his hand up to tip his plastic firefighters helmet in a gentlemanly salute. He flipped it out into the crowd to uproarious applause. 

“Fuck _me_,” Lio said.

“How does he get his hair to do that?” Gueira asked.

“Can’t be wax, it looks so fluffy.”

“What was his name again?” Lio said.

“Galo,” Meis said. “He’s new, real popular though.”

Lio decided to examine that statement later.

“Good job guys,” Lio said, magnanimously.

On the stage, Galo threw his coat to the ground and faced up to the pole. He rolled his body against it, biceps and triceps clenching and releasing as his hips moved in a glorious, sinuous grind. Galo let his suspenders slip one at a time, the belt at his waist just barely keeping them from falling. Lio didn’t even mind the sound of enthusiastic women hollering over Peaches’ entreaty to _fuck the pain away_. 

The boy bit his goddamn lip as he brushed one hand over his forehead and waved his fingers like it was just _so_ hot. Then he gripped either side of the collar of his shirt and _ripped it in two_.

“Yes!” Someone shouted. Lio suspected that it was him.

The pants shortly followed.

“Wow, look at that Lux,” Meis said. “He makes it seem so easy.”

Lio watched, open mouthed, as this stunning twunk worked the pole with the dexterity of a professional gymnast. Teaches of Peaches, indeed.

As the final bars wound down, Galo’s eyes traced over the bar and landed straight on Lio. Lio snapped his mouth shut. Galo winked at him.

“We bought you a lap dance!” Meis shouted, just as the music stopped.

“Hell yeah!” A woman in a pantsuit yelled at them.

Lio put a hand over his face and longed for the ground to swallow him.

* * *

“Look, I’m sure everybody says this, but I don’t usually do this sort of thing,” Lio said.

“Oh, I know!” Galo said. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”

Galo had another bright grin on his face and his thighs on either side of Lio’s hips. His blinding sincerity had to be faked. No one could be so effortlessly sunny after an evening spent dancing under blinding stage lights. Surely, he got _tired_.

Lio felt a hand tip up his chin. He’d been staring at Galo’s tits.

“Hey, you know you don’t have to, right?” Galo said. “It’s supposed to be fun.”

“No, no I want to,” Lio said.

It would be rude _not_ to.

“Okay then!” Galo chirped.

Another song played through the speakers with equal intensity but lower volume than what had been playing outside. Galo flipped his body around and ground his ass into Lio’s thighs. It was thick and round and tapered to a pretty little waist that Lio longed to put his hands around. Lio had his hands clenched by his sides as he watched the muscles in Galo’s back flex.

“You can put your hands on my waist, if you want,” Galo said, with another roll of his hips.

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Lio said.

“It’s fine, it’s on the rules.” Galo pointed to a sign on the wall that Lio had previously been too distracted to see.

Rule one was _Don’t be a creep._

Rule five was _Hands can go on waists. Only._

“Is that unusual?” Lio asked.

“Varies,” Galo replied, before tipping his hips from side to side. “Sure you don’t want to?”

“Damnit,” Lio said.

Galo’s skin was slick and smooth beneath his fingers. Galo made a low, pleased sound as he tightened his grip. Lio’s hands fit perfectly in the little dip before Galo’s chest flared out again.

Galo leaned back, his shoulders resting on Lio’s chest as he continued to dance. He had this cheeky little look on his face, like he knew exactly how much effect he was having and enjoyed it. Which was fair, because Lio was enjoying himself in as much as he could enjoy being tortured by a pretty boy with exceptional muscle control.

The song ended and Lio felt bereft and relieved at the same time.

“Happy Birthday,” Galo chirped, as he left him at the door.

Lio had to will his erection down enough for polite company and then he went home and fell asleep before he had time to masturbate.

* * *

It was surprisingly not awkward to run into the guy at a coffeeshop three days later.

“Oh hey, it’s the Birthday boy!” Galo said. “You enjoy the rest of your night?”

He was wearing a Burning Rescue tshirt. Guy kept on theme.

“I actually went to bed immediately after, which is a comment on my sleeping habits and not the quality of your work.”

“Well that’s a relief.”

“I really did have a good time.” Towards the end, at least.

“Thank you!” Galo said. “It’s Lio, right?”

Lio nodded. “I don’t want to be impolite and use your professional name when you’re off the clock.”

“Oh no, my name really is Galo,” Galo said, with a sunny smile.

“Huh?” Lio said.

“Yeah, I didn’t realise that most people have a stage name, but whatever, right?”

Lio felt a reflexive pull of all the knowledge he had about discrimination cases where past employment affected future employment but then he squashed it down flat. It was none of his business. He wasn’t going to go white knighting like an asshole.

“Do you want to get coffee?” Galo asked.

“Well…” They were already _at _a coffee shop. Lining up for coffee. “Sure.”

Galo smiled again, even brighter, and it occurred to Lio that he was one of those good-hearted idiots who muddled through by being sweet and shockingly beautiful.

Lio liked that in a man.

* * *

“Law! That’s cool,” Galo said, half a cup in. “What kind of lawyer are you going to be?”

“I want to get into human rights law,” Lio replied. “I’d like to do something constructive with my degree.”

“I get that, that’s why I’m studying to be a firefighter.”

Lio had a moment of cognitive dissonance as he imagined Galo in an actual firefighter’s outfit, with a smudge of black charcoal on his cheek and sweat running down his chest.

“That’s very admirable,” Lio said.

It really was. When he wasn’t putting out towering blazes, he probably saved kittens caught in trees and helped old ladies cross the street.

“Do you think it’s funny that I dress up as a firefighter at work too?” He had a light blush on his face.

“I get the feeling you do it precisely because you think it’s funny.”

“Haha!”

“But also, because you just like it that much. It’s fun, too.”

Galo had a look of surprise on his face. He looked away for a moment, his fingers playing with the straw in his frappuccino as he smiled more gently than before.

“You get me,” Galo said.

“I will say that I’m confused about the song though,” Lio said. “Having talked to you, it’s seems a bit more aggressive than I’d expect you to go for.”

Galo nodded, sagely. “Yeah, that was the DJ. I never know what to choose, so I asked her to pick something good. Bit much, hey?”

_Could’ve gone with a bit more, actually…_

“I thought it suited you, certainly riled up the crowd.”

“I had to drink a bunch of cold water after, the lyrics were so embarrassing.”

Good _God_, Lio wanted to fuck him. While playing that song. It would be amazing.

“You rallied well,” Lio said.

“I bounce,” Galo said, with a nod. Like it was a point of pride.

“That you do,” Lio replied, warmly.

“So, how’s Meis doing?”

Lio blinked.

“You know Meis?” Lio asked.

“For sure, we do a pole dancing class, for fun and fitness.”

“_That’s_ how he knew about boys’ night?”

“Yeah, we chat a lot before class. Nice guy.” Galo took another sip of his drink. “He said he had a friend he wanted to introduce me to, any idea who?”

He really was an idiot. A lovely, _ridiculous_ idiot.

“No idea,” Lio said. “By the way, can I get your number?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <s>So, I don't know </s>[<s>Jujujulieta</s>](https://twitter.com/jujujulieta)<s>, but I was looking at Promare twitter and she made a comment about 'where is the stripper Galo AU' and I decided to be the change I wanted to see in the world.</s>  
<s>I don't have a fandom twitter so... would someone mind letting her know? Hope she likes it. I didn't tag it as a gift in case she didn't...</s> She knows now!
> 
> I've tried to write this in a way where everyone is respectful, if, you know, initially a bit embarrassed about getting a lapdance from a beautiful man and then somewhat desperate to date and have some really good sex with same beautiful man. Still, full disclosure, while I have friends who are/have been sex workers and admire them and the hard work they do, I have not been a sex worker. I tried to thread in the fact that canonically Lio thinks Galo is a good-hearted idiot while making it clear that has nothing to do with his job. If I fucked up in that aim, please let me know if you have the energy, and I'll rework it. 
> 
> Thanks!


	2. Stop, drop and roll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burning Rescue have concerns about Galo's boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end note for CW

Drill days were back-breaking. An entire day of climbing up and down ladders, running in formation and doing push ups, and the only person who enjoyed it was Galo. Even Varys, who was a very active young man who never skipped leg day, looked a little puffed by the time 5pm came around. Galo, however, glistened in the light of the setting sun with a cheerfulness that was exhausting to look upon.

“That was fun,” Galo said. 

Lucia was insensate on the ground, being the least physically inclined of all of them. Remi was pouring a bottle of water over his head, then using whatever remained to try to disguise the massive sweat stains he had under his armpits. Aina flicked a hand towards Ignis, and he was kind enough to indulge her in the task of dragging Lucia back inside.

“Do you want a hand?” Galo asked.

“No, we got it,” Aina wheezed.

Galo held the door open for them.

“Did she remember to stretch?” Galo asked.

“Not as much as is ideal,” Ignis said, voice considering.

“Well that’s no good,” Galo said. “Hey Lucia, let me help you cool down.”

“Go away,” Lucia groaned.

“Nah,” Galo replied.

Lucia made a sound like a dying goat, but she still shifted her weight so she could stand again. She winced when her feet hit the ground and she was once again responsible for holding up her own body weight. Galo pulled her towards the open ground around the fire pole. She limped after him gamely. He shifted into a calf stretch and Lucia followed him, naturally falling into his timing, but not managing the same depth.

“You worked really hard today,” Galo said, as he switched legs. “You did a good job.”

“I am dying,” Lucia huffed.

“No, you’re not!” Galo said, amiably.

“Guh.”

“You’re going to sleep really well tonight,” Galo said.

He prattled on for ten minutes and at the end of it, Lucia found she could actually move again. Galo guided her over to the showers and pushed her into a stall.

“Remember to take your clothes off first,” he said.

“No,” Lucia replied.

She stayed under the hot water until it ran out, and then she stayed for another five minutes until Ignis told her to leave.

* * *

Remi, Galo and Aina were usually the last to leave the station, even when they were first out of the showers, because they all needed to use a hairdryer before they were willing to go home. Once upon a time, they’d had to fight over the privilege. Then Ignis had gotten sick of them and bought them one each, colour coded so they couldn’t borrow someone else’s without them knowing. A collegiate sensibility had come over them since then. Standing in front of a mirror together for ten minutes could technically be considered a teambuilding activity. It certainly helped to have someone check the parts of your styling that you couldn’t see.

“You do a nice ponytail, Remi,” Aina said, as they left the bathroom.

“My mother is still disappointed that I’m not a hairdresser,” Remi replied.

Aina and Galo stayed quiet at that remark. They’d never met Remi’s family but there was a distinct possibility that Remi wasn’t lying.

They split to towards each of their lockers. Galo opened his and pulled out a chunky, blue wrist strap. Aina gave it a double look. She’d never seen Galo wear a watch before.

“Is that a Fitness Bitness?” Remi asked, tilting his glasses down for a better look.

“Yeah, it is!” Galo said. “My boyfriend gave it to me for my birthday.”

“Your birthday isn’t until next week…”

“Yeah, but he’s going away for a conference, so he wanted to give it to me before he had to go.” Galo beamed. “Isn’t he the best?”

“Yeah, sure,” Aina said. “Hey, Galo, how long have you been dating again?”

“We’ve been official for six weeks!”

“When are we going to meet him?” Remi asked.

“Soon I hope, he’s so busy with lawyer stuff, and when he’s not at university, he’s at his legal practice… I really want you to get to know him, though.”

Galo’s Fitness Bitness ™ beeped and Galo perked up. He grabbed his bag from his locker and slapped it shut behind him, without checking that the lock had caught.

“Got to go!” Galo said. “See you tomorrow!”

He bounded off with all the energy of a two-year old golden retriever. Aina exchanged a glance with Remi.

“Those things cost three hundred dollars,” he said.

“Did Galo get a sugar daddy?” Aina asked, almost shocked.

“He’s not the type to go looking for a sugar daddy,” Remi said.

“He is exactly the type to accidentally get one,” Aina replied.

They looked towards the Burning Rescue garage, in quiet thought. There was technically no harm in engaging in a relationship which included an unequal, but perhaps not inequitable, exchange of gifts. However, the potential for exploitation loomed.

“There’s one way to know for sure,” Remi said carefully. “We should just ask him where they met.”

* * *

“Oh, I met him at the Boobie Trap,” Galo said.

* * *

“I call to order the inaugural ‘Concern over Galo’s Wellbeing,’ meeting,” Lucia said.

They had chosen to meet in the Fire station’s kitchen, on Galo’s day off. Out of respect for the severity of the situation, they had elected not to order pizza until after the meeting had concluded.

“He’s dating some hotshot law professor,” Aina said. “When he’s not teaching, he’s running a law practice on the side, so I don’t think Galo sees him too much.”

“That could be code for ‘hiding his wife,’” Remi added.

“He said his name is Leo, but I can’t find anyone with that name on the faculty lists for any law program within this district,” Lucia said. “He might not even be a lawyer.”

“Or he’s lying about his name,” Varys said, a gentle frown on his lips.

“Galo’s a prime target for someone who thinks they can take advantage of his good nature,” Aina said. “If they know about his background, they might think they can make him dependent on them.”

“Expensive gifts early on is a red flag,” Remi said.

“We don’t know enough about him to track him down,” Varys said. “And it is a little creepy that we’re even doing that in the first place. I think we need to try for a situation where we can meet him in person. He might not be as bad as he sounds.”

There was silence around the table. Varys was a valuable voice of reason, but even he didn’t sound particularly convinced of his own argument, just hopeful. A melancholic pall fell over the table.

“What are you all doing?” Ignis asked.

Everyone flinched. They looked at Ignis with poorly feigned innocence.

Lucia, the least believable of all of them, said, “Nothing.”

Ignis pushed his sunglasses down his nose and looked at all of them over the top of the frames.

“In two weeks, we’re having a party for Galo’s one-year anniversary at Burning Rescue,” Ignis said. “We’re going somewhere nice and everyone should bring a plus one.”

He walked out of the room.

“Chief is a wise man,” Lucia said.

“Can Vinny be my plus one?” Remi asked.

“No!” Aina, Lucia and Varys replied, in concert.

* * *

The next weekend, there was a fire in a pharmaceutical building in the north of the city. The building had been down to a skeleton staff, all evacuated and accounted for, so Rescue’s focus turned from people to damage minimisation.

Lucia, ever the lawless one, hacked into the security system on the ground floor before it went down.

“Shit,” she said.

There was an employee who had swiped in on the laboratory floor at five am, before security switched shifts. She hadn’t swiped out.

“There’ll be a lot of flammable materials in labs,” Ignis said. “The fire started on the floor below, but it’s rising.”

“Structure’s currently stable,” Lucia said. “The stairwells are hot as hell, but they’re sealed. You can still get up and down.”

“Let me go,” Galo said.

The rest of the team were manning the fire hoses. Galo was the one playing lookout, but he could be swapped out for Ignis at a pinch.

“Her name’s Thyma,” Lucia said. “Good luck.”

“Stay on comms,” Ignis said.

“Yes, Chief!” Galo shouted.

* * *

Even with all of his equipment, the heat was so high that it hurt his _eyeballs_. He took the stairs three at a time. The labs were on the tenth floor, but Galo could see smoke diffusing into the stairwell when he reached the eighth. Lucia had warned him that the laboratory floor would likely have more challenging security features than the floors below, but that he should still be able to break through it. Ballistics were out due to the heat, so he’d have to make do with a ram. Lucia had done something to it that she said would be helpful. He wasn’t sure what.

Not even a very paranoid secure facility would have a steel door guarding the stairs. Hopefully.

Galo hit level ten, squared up in front of the door with the ram and threw his body weight into the first strike.

The door exploded.

* * *

“What the hell did you do, Lucia?” Galo shouted, somewhere between elated and horrified.

“Something to do with resonance,” Lucia replied, through the comms.

“Stay focused,” Ignis said.

“Yeah, sure,” Galo said, breathily.

Ignis pressed mute on his headset for a moment.

“We are going to have a talk after this,” he said, to Lucia.

Lucia shrugged and nodded at the same.

“That’s fair,” she replied.

* * *

The flooring in the labs was intact, but incredibly hot. Galo could feel it even through his own thick boots. It didn’t seem as if the floor would be stable for long. He started his sweep from the adjacent wall. Rooms ran up and down the corridor that lead to the fire exit, so he’d have to check each of them individually. Hopefully Thyma was awake and not passed out on the ground.

“Hey Thyma,” Galo called. “It’s Burning Rescue, we’re here looking for you.”

The first two rooms were a bust and the rows of work-stations only made them harder to search quickly. The third room was a storage closet. The lights finally gave up by the time he reached the fourth. Galo had a moment of frustration over the new difficulty this posed, and then something amazing happened.

He heard a scream.

Well, not amazing. Horrible. Just, also very, very useful.

“Found her,” Galo said, into the comms.

Galo sprinted back into the hall and followed the sound as best he could. Once she’d started, Thyma hadn’t let up. She was in the second to last room, which explained why she hadn’t heard him. Galo felt a burst of adrenaline through his system. He refused to let it turn to relief until they were out of the building.

“Hey!” he shouted, as he burst into the room. “It’s okay, Rescue’s here.”

Thyma was a slip of a thing, her sweet face streaked with tears. She was trapped behind a wall of glass in a room with a security swipe. Her feet were covered in light, close-toed slippers, and she’d had to pull herself up onto a desk so they wouldn’t burn.

“It won’t open,” she sobbed.

“Don’t worry about that, miss,” Galo said. “I just need you to turn around and cover your head with your coat.”

Thyma nodded. She turned and covered herself, curled up into a little ball that shook every few moments.

Galo raised the ram again. He wasn’t going to be able to carry it back with him, so he gave it a silent word of thanks before shattering the protective glass into thousands of itty-bitty pieces. He dropped the ram, stepped over the mess and held out his hands.

“Hello Thyma, your ride is here!” he said.

She threw herself into his arms with a desperate, hitching sob.

* * *

Smoke was coming up through the floor, so Galo ran carefully, keeping as close to the sides of the floor as he could. The stairwell was reinforced, so once they were there, they were home free. He slipped his mask down over his face and had Thyma put her coat over her mouth. It wasn’t exactly chivalrous, but he could apologise later.

Through the shattered remains of the safety door, he could see light in the stairwell, flickering. Thyma started to sob all the louder.

“I’m going to put you down for a minute,” Galo said, before he could think better of it.

Thyma hissed as her feet touched the ground in the stairwell. Galo pulled off his coat with haste and wrapped it around her, before pulling her up again. Thyma looked at him with open-mouthed surprise.

“Better keep your feet tucked in, Thyma, we’ll be out before you know it!”

“Wait!” she said.

“We probably shouldn’t—”

“What’s your name?”

He looked down into her pale green eyes and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Galo, at your service.”

Then he started running down the stairs.

* * *

Floor nine exploded outwardly as he hit the sixth floor. Debris landed on his left arm, little burning chunks of something nasty. Some of it fell, but the rest was strange and sticky, cooling but not fast enough. He could smell his skin burning.

He grit his teeth and kept running. Better him than Thyma.

* * *

“You fucking idiot!” Aina screamed at him, firehose still in hand, as Lucia poured water over his arm.

“Do you think I can hide this from my boyfriend?” Galo asked.

“Your arm was on fire,” Ignis said.

“Only a little…” he groused.

“You need to go to a hospital,” Lucia said. “I don’t know what this stuff on your arm is.”

“But I don’t like hospitals…” Galo replied. 

“If you promise to be good, I’ll let you ride in the ambulance that’s taking Thyma,” Ignis said.

“I’ll be good,” Galo replied, quickly. 

* * *

Galo held Thyma’s hand in the ambulance, while the EMT looked over his arm. Lucia had been pouring water over it for the ten minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive and they couldn’t exactly keep that going while he was in a moving vehicle.

“Thank you, for getting me out,” Thyma said.

“Hey, any time,” Galo said. “You can call me whenever you need a door broken down.”

“When the sirens started, the doors went into lockdown,” Thyma said, her shakes starting up again. “I couldn’t get out and no one was there. I thought…”

Thick tears began to streak down her face, leaving clear tracks of warm brown through the thin layer of soot she’d picked up. Galo squeezed her hand.

“But then Rescue came!” Galo said. “And now you’re okay.”

Thyma nodded, breath hitching.

“You should probably sue your security company,” the EMT said. “Just saying.”

A little laugh burst out of her chest, “I probably will do that, thank you.”

“I can be a witness!” Galo said.

“I’d appreciate it,” Thyma replied, a small smile finally blooming on her face.

Thyma fell asleep before they made it to the hospital, her adrenaline finally having dropped down to zero. Galo followed her all the way through the intake procedure, where he gave his account of events after the EMTs did their handover. The EMT that had been sitting with him and Thyma stopped him for a moment before he could go through A&E himself.

“So, you seeing anyone?” they asked.

“Yeah! I have a boyfriend, he’s wonderful,” Galo said. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“Fuck,” the EMT said, before saying a somewhat disheartened farewell and goodbye.

“They were nice,” Galo said, as he followed an amused-looking doctor towards a hospital room.

“How bad’s that hurting anyway?” the doctor asked.

“It's agonising,” Galo replied, sunnily.

* * *

Burning Rescue arrived at his room five hours later, with flowers and a six pack of protein shakes.

“Aw, you guys,” Galo said, a little teary.

“Sorry it took so long,” Aina said. “Two other precincts came to help out and then we had to hand over to Freeze Force—”

“Dicks,” everyone said, simultaneously.

“But the building’s as safe as it can be now,” Aina continued.

“Am I in trouble?” Galo asked.

His pupils were unusually dilated. His left arm was bandaged from wrist to shoulder, but not particularly tightly. He didn’t look too worse for wear.

“We’ll have to talk about procedure when you feel better,” Ignis said. “But no, you’re not in trouble.”

He actually was, a little, but nothing too bad, and not worth discussing while he was doped to the eyeballs.

“How are you feeling?” Varys asked.

“It doesn’t hurt at all!” Galo said. “It mustn’t have been that bad.”

Lucia took a look at his IV, “that’s because you’re on morphine.”

“Really?” Galo asked, surprise bright in his voice.

His eyes started to dip closed. He slumped forward a little, before jerking awake. Ignis stepped forward and gently pushed his chest against the bed. He found the controller and shifted the backrest down until it was horizontal.

“Oh no,” Galo said. “I’m lying down now.”

“You have a nap,” Ignis said. “We’ll visit you in the morning.”

“Okay, chief,” Galo said.

He immediately started snoring.

Burning Rescue filed out of his room and made their way down the hall to the lifts. A stressed-looking young man in a suit slipped past them down the hall. He spoke an absent-sounding apology when he brushed against Remi’s shoulder, but he didn’t stop. He walked as quickly as propriety would allow.

“Poor guy,” Aina said. “He looked really worried.”

“Nice cravat, though,” Remi said.

* * *

The team came to visit again, the next morning. They could hear voices from Galo’s room.

“You’re going to have to sleep on the left side of the bed now, I hope you know,” someone said.

“Can’t I just wrap my arm in Styrofoam?” Galo asked.

Burning Rescue looked amongst themselves, eyes wide, before cramming into Galo’s doorway and knocking on the lintel. The very pretty, stressed young man from the previous day was sitting at Galo’s side.

“Guys!” Galo said, excited. “This is Lio!”

“Pleasure to meet you all,” Lio said, with a warm smile on his face. “Galo’s told me a lot about you.”

“You too,” Aina said, slowly.

“Lio came home early from his conference, just to see me.” Galo interlaced his fingers with Lio’s, his face incandescent with happiness. “Isn’t he great?”

“As if I wouldn’t come home to see you, after something like this,” Lio replied.

Lio held up their joined hands and pressed a kiss to Galo’s knuckles. Galo’s cheeks went red, but he didn’t stop smiling.

“Aw,” Varys said, quietly.

“So, you’re coming to Galo’s party next week, right?” Lucia asked.

Aina punched her, gently, on the arm.

* * *

“Galo, it’s not my practice, I just volunteer there.”

“But it is though, it’s like I say, ‘my fire station,’ everyone knows I don’t own it.”

“Would you say, ‘my bar and grill?’”

“Oh yeah, I see what you mean now. It is a bit different.”

“So, just to check,” Aina said. “You’re not a forty-year old man who’s ageing incredibly well?”

Lio looked at her with wide-eyed incredulity.

“What?” he asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very big content warning for presence of a fire in this chapter. Galo also receives a burn and has to go to the hospital. Everyone ends up fine.  
[Let's keep loosely relating these to Peaches lyrics.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VugNIWHa4zU)
> 
> Big note: I did not research for this chapter. I will have gotten all of it wrong. I just wanted to write some action scenes to set up my pay off. I also wound up writing in third person omniscient and I do not care for third person omniscient, so, here we are.  
(If you like it feel free to comment, I'll sincerely appreciate it! I'm on struggle street right now.)

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr.](https://marryacareerwomanbehappy.tumblr.com/)  
(Also I changed my pseud here, it was too long before.)


End file.
